Biden cites need for technical training in St. Louis visit

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden says there is strong demand for technical training and job creation, including many jobs that won’t require a college degree.

The Democrat spoke Friday during a visit at LaunchCode in St. Louis. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Biden touted the Obama administration’s TechHire initiative as a way to get people with non-traditional work and educational backgrounds trained and employed in tech jobs.

LaunchCode, founded in St. Louis in 2013, has placed 310 people in apprenticeships with a 90 percent hiring rate into full-time positions. Sixty percent of those workers were previously unemployed, and 25 percent lack a college degree.

Biden says there is a demand for 1.2 million IT workers in the U.S. by 2022. He says 40 percent of the jobs won’t require a college degree.